The Citi Prestige® Card Review

Note: Some offer details in this article have expired and/or are being changed by the issuer. Appropriate updates will be applied to the article when the changes have been finalized.

If you travel enough, the getting to your destination loses its glamour and you begin searching for something, anything to make the trip less tedious and less expensive. In fact, there is a whole subculture of frequent travelers who take pride in discovering every discount and shortcut available, such as having the best credit card to offer travel rewards and benefits. Citi Prestige® cardholders receive numerous travel benefits while earning valuable points in Citi's ThankYou rewards program.

How This Card Works

Citi Prestige® Card from Citi, a Credit Cards Explained advertiser, offers 3x points for all air travel and hotel purchases, 2x points for dining and entertainment, and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. Points are earned in Citi's ThankYou rewards program, and can be redeemed for about one cent each towards gift cards, merchandise, and loan repayments.

In addition, points can be transferred to miles with a dozen airline partners or to points with the Hilton Honors program. Furthermore, new applicants can earn 75,000 bonus ThankYou points after spending $7,500 on new purchases within 3 months of account opening.

But rewards are just part of what makes this card so valuable, as it also features many travel benefits. First, cardholders receive a $250 annual air travel credit good towards flight related expenses including airline tickets, baggage fees and seat upgrades. You will also receive a $100 credit towards the Global Entry application fee. The Global Entry program offers expedited processing when entering the United States and include access to the TSA PreCheck program which features faster and less intrusive security screening at most airports. And once at the airport, you will have memberships with the Priority Pass Select program, which features over 1,000 airport lounges around the world.

Other travel benefits include a fourth night free at hotels when you book four or more consecutive nights using Citi's designated travel agency. even with your ThankYou points.

Cardholders also receive travel insurance against trip delays, cancellations and interruptions as well as lost and delayed baggage protection. This card even includes a medical evacuation policy that can pay for your trip home when the right emergency care isn’t available locally. Purchase protection policies include missed event ticket protection, a 90 day return protection, extended warranty coverage, damage and theft protection and Citi's Price Rewind price protection program.

There is a $450 annual fee for this card, and no foreign transaction fees.

Advantages

This card offers plenty of advantages that are primarily geared for those who are frequent travelers. The $250 annual air travel credit is a great feature that travelers can use to offset virtually any airline expense. And if you don't already have Global Entry, you can save $100 by using this statement credit. If you already have it, you can still earn the statement credit if you use your card to pay the application fee for a friend or family member. The lounge memberships are also a very important travel benefit and can be invaluable when you need to get work done while spending hours in an airport.

The fourth night free hotel benefit can also help frequent travelers to save a tremendous amount of money or reward points. This is especially valuable to those business travelers who commute each week, as the fourth night free is a cardholder benefit that's received as a statement credit.

But where this card also shines is in its ability to offer very flexible travel rewards. Surprisingly, many competing premium reward cards only offer one point per dollar spent on most purchases and double points for some airline purchases. The Citi Prestige card goes far beyond this by offering 3x on all airline and hotel purchases and double points on dining and entertainment. It also offers you the flexibility of transferring points to airline partners and Hilton, rather than being stuck trying to redeem miles with just one airline. Finally, the travel insurance and purchase protection benefits that this card offers are class leading.

Disadvantages

This card has a $450 annual fee, which will not appeal to some applicants. And although its benefits are very valuable, its cost may not be justified for those who are not frequent travelers. And like any rewards credit card, the Prestige card has a higher standard interest rate than similar cards that don't offer rewards. Those who carry a balance would be better off focusing on reducing their interest costs rather than earning rewards.

Bottom Line

By offering strong rewards and benefits for frequent travelers, the Citi Prestige® Card has earned its place among the best premium travel reward cards. If you are a regular traveler who is looking to make the experience more bearable, this card could be the right tool to get the job done.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jason Steele is a one of the leading journalists covering the credit card industry and travel rewards. His work appears at many of the top personal finance websites and is regularly syndicated by mainstream sites such as MSN Money and Yahoo! Finance. Learn more about Jason Steele

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Credit Cards Explained may earn affiliate commissions from our partners on this page. These commissions do not affect how we select, rate, or review products. To find out more, read our complete terms of use.

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Credit Cards Explained may earn affiliate commissions from our partners on this page. These commissions do not affect how we select, rate, or review products. To find out more, read our complete terms of use.